Published 7:00 pm, Saturday, September 5, 2009

LUBBOCK — Texas Tech junior quarterback and first-year starter Taylor Potts took full responsibility for his team’s inconsistent offensive play against North Dakota on Saturday night.

But as far as first games go, Potts and the Red Raiders will chalk this one up as a starting point as Tech defeated the Sioux, who are in their second year playing Division I football, 38-13, in front of 47,824 fans at Jones AT&T Stadium.

Potts completed 34 of 48 passes for 405 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions, all of which coming in North Dakota territory. The passing total is the third most behind Sonny Cumbie (470) and Cody Hodges (454) for a first-time starter under 10th-year head coach Mike Leach. The junior from Abilene High also rushed for two touchdowns.

For most quarterbacks starting in their first game at the Division I level, that effort would have been enough. But not for Potts.

“I had a blast out there because I haven’t played a full game since high school,” Potts said. “Honestly, I felt like I held this offense back. I did a lot of things I know I shouldn’t do and a lot of things that counter my style and technique. For one, I was throwing off my back foot several times, which I never do. I definitely will fix that. I had a great time playing and I’m happy we got the win. But personally, I’ve got a few things to work on, and that starts (today).”

Leach said Potts’ play was a mixed bag at best.

“I think he just needs to play like he does on Tuesdays and Wednesdays,” Leach said. “That’s all he needs to worry about. The good stuff he did was really good and some of the try-to-be perfect stuff, not so good.”

The interceptions weren’t the only area holding the Red Raiders back. Tech was penalized 11 times for 93 yards and the running game only netted 40 yards on 19 carries.

Potts and the Red Raiders (1-0) certainly got off to a fast start as they marched 64 yards on their first drive in 3 minutes, 18 seconds and capped it off with a 3-yard run by Baron Batch, the junior running back and Midland High graduate.

Later in the quarter, Tech made it 14-0 on the first of two 1-yard quarterback sneaks by Potts.

But then after that initial quarter, the Red Raider offense started to play at an inconsistent level and the only highlight was a 49-yard touchdown strike from Potts to Detron Lewis to give the Red Raiders a 21-3 advantage. Lewis finished with a game-high eight catches for 146 yards.

“We got lackadaisical there in the second quarter,” Potts said. “In the second quarter we kind of got happy with ourselves. We’ve got to stay excited. We’ve got a full season and we’ve got to stay pumped up the whole time. If we let up against anybody else, it’s going to come back and bite us in the butt.”

As the offense struggled, the Red Raiders almost abandoned the running game entirely.

“I thought that we were too spotty on the offensive line and too tentative at running back,” Leach said.

Defensively, the Red Raiders held the Sioux to 207 total yards and some of the new starters on the unit showed some potential. North Dakota was also held to two long field goals by Brandon Hellvang and a touchdown. Still, there’s plenty of room for improvement on the defensive side, according to senior linebacker Marlon Williams.

“For (the Sioux) this was a big game for them and they just capitalized on our mistakes,” Williams said. “Defensively, when we get all our fundamentals together and when everybody is on the same page, swarming to the ball, this is just scratching the surface of where we could be as a defense.”

After netting another 1-yard sneak by Potts in the third quarter, the Red Raiders added a field goal my Matt Williams and an 18-yard touchdown pass from Potts to Adam James in the fourth quarter for the final margin, which many thought coming into the game would have been much wider.

“I think there were too many spots offensively that we played with eight instead of 11,” Leach said. “Although I would have been shocked had that not been the case at this point (of the season).”